Moving your sword slightly higher than your opponent’s as he or she moves in for a lunge attack can be the difference between a quick death and the opportunity to make a break for the finish line. All it takes is a touch from an opponents’ sword to meet your death, so precision is key. You can roll and duck to dodge middle and high lunges, or meet your opponent’s attack with your sword positioned at the same level. You have a lunge button and a jump button, but everything else is handled with the directional keys or control stick (I highly recommend plugging in a controller). When encountering another fighter, each player takes up a fencing pose. The chance to recover is as ever-present as the opportunity to overtake, lending every battle a level of intensity I rarely feel in other fighting games.

Skirmishes can play out like elongated choreographed Hollywood swordfights, or last as long as it takes to jump over someone and throw a sword in their back. The back and forth nature of the combat means matches can last a long time, with dozens of exciting moments.

The first to reach the edge of the screen wins. If you get taken out, then your competitor gets a chance to move to the opposite end of his or her screen and you respawn in front of them. You must make your way to the opposite end of the screen, taking out the other player who repeatedly respawns in front of you each time you defeat them. The concept of Nidhogg is easy to understand. At first glance, the game doesn’t look like it belongs in the fighting genre, but it hits the same competitive beats of a typical fighting game albeit from a different direction and with a different set of rules. It’s a strange way to celebrate victory, but it’s appropriate for Nidhogg’s atypical multiplayer structure and gameplay. At the end of each match the Nidhogg, a creature with roots in Norse mythology appears to devour the winner.

Nidhogg 1 xbox one